Little Monster
by SugarDee
Summary: A collection of one-shots about Ron and his fear of spiders. CHAPTER 6 IS UP!
1. Damsel in Distress

_A/N: Finally, Easter break is here. Been waiting for this break for a really long time._

_Anyway this collection of one-shots is inspired by a Kit Kat ad in here. It involves a really muscular guy and a tiny spider. It kinda reminds me and my housemate of Ron's fear of spiders. Of course the guy in the ad is nothing compared to Ron - Ron's far more attractive. Heehee._

_This one-shot is kinda a sequel of Lucky since it's set two months after their marriage. But as usual you don't have to read that one to understand this. Although I'll appreciate it if you read that one first._

_**Disclaimer:** All characters of Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling._

* * *

DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

"Finally," he said, lying down on the sofa with his head on her lap. "No offence, love, but I've been waiting for your parents to wish us goodnight ever since they stepped into this house."

"Was having my parents as guests really that bad?" asked Hermione, looking down at him.

"No, of course not," he answered, reaching up to caress her cheek. "I mean it was great that they finally came to visit and see our new house. But when you woke up really early for six days straight, it was far from great." Ron paused for awhile to sigh. "It was a wonder, really, that I didn't fall asleep on them."

Hermione smiled. "I'm sorry for making you clean the whole house the Muggle way. You know how different it is to clean something with magic."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, you have this feeling that it's not clean enough."

Nodding as well, Hermione replied, "But I thank you for not whining in front of my parents. I'm glad you've kept it inside until they went back home."

"Do I get a reward for that?" he asked, grinning at her.

"Later," she answered, tracing his lips with her thumb. "We've got to wash the dishes first before we can do anything else."

"Do we really have to?" he asked. "Can't we use our wands so that I can enjoy my reward faster?"

Hermione laughed lightly. "Yes, we really have to wash the dishes. And no, we can't use our wands to do it." She started to stroke his cheek. "And we have to do it now before it's too late."

"Then I can have my reward?" said Ron, childishly.

She laughed again. "Then you can have your reward," agreed Hermione. "Come on, time to get up."

Ron sat up, letting Hermione stand up first. But before she could walk towards the kitchen, he suddenly grabbed her waist and made her sit on his lap.

"Ronald, you have to let me go," she said. By that time, Ron's hand had gone under her shirt to stroke her stomach whereas his lips went to kiss her neck. "R-Ron, I told you: you'll have your r-reward _after_ the dishes are done."

"Can I at least have a small portion of the reward?" whispered Ron. "I deserve it, don't you think?"

"F-five minutes," gasped Hermione.

"Better," he replied, turning her around.

Both of their hearts started to beat faster. Even after years of dating and months of being married, it still felt like yesterday that they shared their first kiss just before the war on Hogwarts. Their stomachs still did a flip whenever they touched. They still had goofy smiles whenever they held hands. They still missed each other even when they're only apart for several minutes. They were still in love with each other even after years of being together, and they're not afraid to show it to the whole wide world.

Five minutes later …

"Ron, we've got to stop now if –"

"No," he said, hiding his face on her neck.

"Come on, Ron. Do you want your reward or not?"

"Magic," he said simply.

Hermione sighed. "You said it yourself – if we use our wands, it's not clean enough," she said, pushing his head back. "I promise: we'll do whatever you want for your reward afterwards."

Ron grinned. "Whatever I want?"

Hermione instantly regretted for saying it after she saw how her husband looked now. But she nodded nevertheless. "Whatever you want."

"Okay then; let's wash those dishes," said Ron, a little too eagerly.

Hermione then stood from his lap and offered her hand to him. "I have a feeling you're going to ask me something I'll remember for the rest of my life," looking at him suspiciously.

"We'll just see then, love," he replied, kissing her cheek. He then led her to the kitchen.

"Okay," she said, standing in front of the basin, "I wash, you dry."

"What if," Ron moved to stand just behind her and wrapped his long arms around her waist, "you wash, you dry and I make sure everything's all right?"

"Not funny, Ron," replied Hermione, hitting his hand lightly. "I said _we_ wash the dishes, not _I_ wash."

"Sorry," he apologised, kissing her shoulder. Ron then stood beside her, waiting for her to start. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"

"Hilarious, Ronald," she said, sarcastically, starting to do her task.

Ron just laughed lightly, and soon Hermione followed.

"I can always count on you for making me laugh in whatever situation."

"What husbands are for, right?"

Suddenly, Hermione had an idea. Smiling mischievously, she turned her face towards him and reached up. Knowing what she was going to do to him, Ron immediately stepped away from her reach.

"Don't you dare, woman."

"What?" she said, innocently. Her hand was out, ready to touch his face with foam.

"I know what you're going to do," he said, backing away slowly. "And I'm not letting you do it."

"Why not? I'm your wife – I'm allowed to do anything to you."

"Anything doesn't involve putting your dirty hands on me, 'Mione."

"Fine," said Hermione, giving up. She then went back to washing.

After making sure that Hermione was not going to do anything to him, Ron walked slowly to stand next to her and started drying the dishes with a dishtowel provided.

"Oh," said Hermione, all of the sudden.

"What is it?" asked Ron, hurriedly walking towards her.

"There's a spider on the plate I'm holding now."

Ron's eyes widened. He once again stepped away from her. "Kill it, 'Mione."

"What? I'm not going to kill this poor thing."

"Then throw it out the window or something."

"You know," Hermione opened the kitchen door to release the spider, "you've seen spiders bigger than this one, and yet you're still scared of a small spider."

"No matter how big or small the _monster_ is, I still hate spiders," he said, goose bumps on his neck and arms. "You know what my brothers did to me."

"Yes, you've mentioned it to me more than once," said Hermione, walking back. "Come on, Ron. Let's continue."

"You sure you've already thrown it away?"

"Yes, Ronald, I am sure I've already thrown the spider away," she answered. "Now let's hurry up. We both have to go to work tomorrow."

Ron then made his way to stand behind her. Hugging her from behind, he nuzzled her neck.

"Ron, I wash, you dry – remember?"

"Thank you," said Ron instead.

"Whatever for?"

"For saving me from that little monster."

Hermione smiled. "You're welcome," she replied. "I'm sure you would've done the same thing for me."

"I would if I wasn't scared of that thing."

Hermione kissed his cheek. "It's okay, love."

Ron then released her and stood where he was supposed to. He then continued his task of drying the dishes.

"If I saved you from the monster, you're the damsel in distress then?"

They both started laughing.

* * *

_A/N: Found any mistakes? If you do, leave me a review. I appreciate any kinds of reviews. :)_

_I've already written chapter two, but I won't put it up just yet - I haven't written chapter three. Any suggestions?_

_Til next time._


	2. House of Spiders

_A/N: Easter break is gonna be over in around 9 hours. T_T I still want some holidays._

_Anyway this chapter was written _just_ a day after I finished writing Damsel in Distress. That's my first time ever in writing two chapters in a row. Wow. Hopefully this chapter is as good as the first one._

_This is about Ron and Hermione having a date in the zoo where Ron had to go to the house of spiders. A big portion of this chapter has already been written in The Zoo which is the longest fanfics I've ever written so far. So this small portion is all about what really happened inside the house of spiders._

_**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to JK Rowling._

* * *

HOUSE OF SPIDERS

"Ron?"

He didn't even turn his face towards her; his eyes were transfixed on the signboard.

"Come on," said Hermione, pulling his hand to encourage him to move.

He shook his head. "No," he murmured.

"I'll be there for you."

He mumbled a 'no' again.

"I promise."

Ron then turned towards her. "Do we really have to go inside that monster house?" he finally asked.

"Yes, if you want to go home after that."

"Can't we just skip it? So that we can go home now?"

It was her turn to shake her head. "We have to, Ron."

"Why?" asked Ron, childishly.

Hermione cupped his face with her small hands. Looking at him intently, she answered, "I want you to face your fear. I've told you that before, haven't I?"

"But –"

"No buts," she cut off his sentence. "I won't leave you. For anything."

"Not even for books?"

She brought his head down to kiss his forehead. "Not even for the best books in the world."

"Not even for your schoolmates?"

She kissed one of his cheeks. "Not even for McGonagall."

"Like she's going to come to the zoo," mumbled Ron.

"Well, we would never know now, would we?" she said, smiling. "So, ready to go in yet?"

As a response, Ron rested his head on her shoulder. "Not even for _Vicky_?" he continued quietly.

"What? What does Viktor have to do with this?"

"Just answer me, 'Mione."

Hermione sighed. "No, Ron. Not even for Viktor Krum. Not even for Gilderoy Lockhart. Not even for Cormac McLaggen."

Ron laughed. "Brilliant," he said, before kissing her lips.

"_Now_ can we go?" asked Hermione, after breaking apart.

"Why are you so eager? Have you been to this house before?" he asked instead. "Or you're just so eager to see me scream?"

"I haven't been there before. That's why I want you to come with me," she answered, pulling him towards the house. "And you said it yourself: it's no fun looking at the animals without me."

"That's because I was looking at the giraffes, Hermione. Those animals are nothing compared to this … _monster_."

"Oh, of course there is more than one spider, Ronald," said Hermione. "It _is_ a zoo, after all."

Ron stopped instantaneously. "I'm not going in there, 'Mione," whispered Ron, shaking his head again. "I don't like being in the same room with a tiny spider, let alone loads of them."

"I'm aware of that, obviously."

"Then you _must_ know that I hate those monsters!"

"Yes, and I know why as well."

"So why do you still insist in entering?"

"Because I want to see what's inside."

"Spiders of course. Loads of them!"

"You don't know that. Maybe there's something else."

"Give me an example," he said, crossing his arms across his chest.

Hermione paused for awhile to think. "I don't know; I told you I haven't been there before."

"Wow, the world is coming to an end," said Ron, sarcastically. "Hermione doesn't know something."

"No-one's perfect, Ronald."

"You are to me," he said, smiling sweetly.

"How kind of you," said Hermione, before pulling his hand again. "But you're still coming with me."

"Nooo," whined Ron, letting himself being dragged by his girlfriend.

Inside the house of spiders …

"See, it's not so bad," remarked Hermione, walking near the spiders. Ron however was standing far behind her, too frightened to walk. Realising that her boyfriend was not beside her anymore, she looked back and gestured him to come. "Why are you so far away from me? Take a closer look."

"It's okay, I'm fine here," said Ron. "You go ahead, 'Mione. I'll just stay here and wait for you to finish."

"That's ridiculous," she said, walking towards him and pulling his hand yet again. "You can't see anything over there."

"That's the whole point," he mumbled.

Pretending to not hear it, Hermione pulled him along from one spider to the other. Ron looked like he had the urge to go to the loo. Knowing this, Hermione tried to speed up the expedition.

After ten painful minutes, they both saw the exit door. Ron was about to exhale some air when he heard some girl saying: "Mummy, the spider's tickling me." Hermione heard that as well. And being a curious person that she was, she looked back to see a small girl with a tiny spider on her palm. With an idea on her mind, Hermione started walking back to the girl. Since they were still holding hands, Ron held her back.

"Don't tell me you're going there, Hermione, please."

"Come on, Ron. I want to hold the spider."

Ron sighed. "Fine, just hurry up."

"You're not coming?" asked Hermione, tilting her head slightly.

"Are you mad? Of course not!"

Hermione nodded faintly. Alone, she then walked closer to the girl and asked for the spider. Ron just stayed where he was – far away from the tiny monster.

"Are you sure you don't want to touch it, Ron?" asked Hermione, looking at him.

"Positive."

"This poor thing doesn't bite, you know."

Shaking his head, he said, "Never."

"You know," looking back at the spider, "people are waiting for you to move from the exit."

Ron realised that a number of people were indeed standing in front of him. So he moved away to the side, allowing them to go out. However, that led to being near to one of the biggest spiders inside the house. Therefore he made a decision to stand closer to Hermione.

"You finally came over," said Hermione, looking up before offering him the spider. "Decided to hold the spider?"

He put his hands up while taking a few steps back. "No."

"I promise: after you hold this spider, we will definitely go home."

Ron shook his head again.

"Just this once, Ron," she convinced him. "After this one, I won't ask you to hold another spider."

Ron sighed; a sign of giving up. "You certain that thing doesn't bite?" he asked, taking a few steps nearer.

"Yes, I would have told you if it did."

"We can go home after this?" he asked again, finally in front of her.

Hermione nodded. "Promised you, didn't I?"

He murmured a 'yeah'.

"People are waiting on you, Ron," she said, taking his hand and putting the spider on his palm. "There."

Ron wanted to wiggle his hand free from the spider, but Hermione was grasping his wrist so tight he could see some veins popping out of her hand.

"Don't you dare drop the spider, Ron. You can't even find it if it falls to the ground. People might step on it, you know."

Noticing Ron's face had turned pale, Hermione took the spider from him and gave it to the person standing behind her as it was their turn to hold it.

"How I wish I had a camera with me," she said, walking towards the door with Ron beside her.

"Thank Merlin, you didn't," he murmured. "I don't want any memory of that."

"Why not? Don't you want to remember when and where you have touched one small spider?"

"No, that memory is already imprinted here," answered Ron, his finger tapping his temple. "I don't want another one."

Hermione smiled. "But I am proud of you for facing your fear."

"Yeah but I'm still scared of spiders," he said, shuddering.

"Doesn't matter," she said, stroking his back lovingly. "But it wasn't _that_ bad, was it?"

"I'd rather die now than touch another one."

"Well at least you didn't scream like a girl," she said, smiling even wider.

"Very funny, Hermione."

Hermione just laughed.

* * *

_A/N: I don't know which one is shorter - this one or Damsel in Distress? Anyway hope it turned out all right. Review please!_

_Less than half of chapter 3 is done. Don't really know when exactly I'm going to put it up here. But I will finish the story. Don't worry about that._

_By the way, I would like to thank those who gave me ideas for chapter 3. The chapter 3 that I had in mind is different from what you've given me, but I will try my best to write and put it here._

_Til next time._

_P.S: Anyone seen the latest Harry Potter HBP's trailer? The fifth one? It's so cool. It's by far the coolest and greatest trailer of Harry Potter. You should watch it. Just go to YouTube and type Harry Potter 5th trailer. And tell me what you think._


	3. Biscuits and Spider

_A/N: Oh just say it: I suck at updating. I am really terribly sorry. I've been having assignments these past weeks, and my mind couldn't think of anything other than those bloody assignments. But I admit that I did visit ffnet to read other stories. LOL._

_Anyway I know that in the last chapter I said that I've already written less than half of the story. But honestly, I deleted half of __that half since it didn't really flow with the story. And it turned out to be longer than the first two. It still is longer. Oh well.  
_

_Well enough of my useless rambling; here is chapter 3._

_Just a quick warning, though: it's rated K+ for a reason - Ron's mouth. But he only swears once. So that's okay.  
_

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to Harry Potter; it all belongs to JK Rowling. I only own the plot._

* * *

BISCUITS AND SPIDER

There was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Hermione, dear?"

Looking up, she replied, "Coming, Mum." She placed a bookmark on the page she was reading and walked towards the door to open it. "Oh," she said, looking at her mother with a purse on her hand, "it's time already?"

"Yes, I have to go now," answered Mrs Granger, before kissing her daughter's cheek. "Ronald's already waiting for you downstairs."

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute."

Mrs Granger nodded. "Don't forget to look the door if you're going out with him today."

"Don't worry – I won't forget," promised Hermione, smiling.

"Good," she mumbled, stroking Hermione's cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too, Mum."

Mrs Granger bid her daughter goodbye before going downstairs to meet the guest who was at the moment looking at the pictures on the table beside the sofa.

"Ron?"

"Yes?" he responded, looking up.

"Hermione said she'll be with you in a minute," she replied, going towards the cloak room to get her robe. "And now I have to rush to the office or my 'dates' would complain."

"Okay," muttered Ron, approaching the owner of the house. "Drive safely," he said with his right hand out, ready to shake her hand.

Mrs Granger laughed lightly and brushed his hand away gently. She kissed his cheek instead, leaving Ron with a flushed face.

"No need to be so formal, Ronald. You are like a family to us," she said, putting on her robe, helped by Ron. "Though I wish you would be official soon."

"Oh, err … w-well –"

She laughed again. "Well goodbye, Ron. Have fun later."

Mrs Granger disappeared even before Ron realised it. He flopped down into the sofa. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and thought about what Mrs Granger had said (_"Though I wish you would be official soon."_).

To say that he hasn't thought about marriage would be an understatement. He, in fact, has been thinking about marrying his girlfriend (he grinned at this word) ever since the incident at the Malfoy Manor. Ron would never forgive himself if Hermione couldn't make it. When he found out that Hermione was still alive, Ron immediately prayed to whoever out there for bringing her back to life and broke down in front of her, not caring who was in the room with them.

"Hey, love."

Her beautiful voice brought him back to reality. Ron smiled as he felt her lips on his forehead. He opened his eyes to find an upside-down Hermione standing behind the sofa.

"Hey yourself," he replied, reaching out to caress her cheek. "Long time no see."

Hermione giggled; the sound that Ron loved so much. "But we just met yesterday."

"Yeah, only for half an hour. If George hadn't come screaming my name all the way from the shop, we could have had dinner as well."

She kissed his forehead again. "Well, you should be grateful that he's given you _two_ days off," she said, before going round the sofa to sit beside him. Hermione took his hand and entwined it with hers. "So, what are we going to do today?"

Ron smirked. "Glad you asked."

Before Hermione could respond, Ron had tugged her close and kissed her lips. She could feel him forming a smile as she responded back.

Five (or fifteen – they didn't really care) minutes later, they broke apart with Hermione sitting on his lap.

"Is this what we're going to do for the rest of the day?" asked Hermione, nuzzling into his neck. "Snogging in my parents' house?"

Ron chuckled. "And tomorrow as well," he joked. After earning himself a whack, he continued, "No, I was hoping we could go somewhere for lunch and maybe have dinner at The Burrow."

"Sounds nice, but I've got to tell my parents."

"I've already asked your Mum about it and she said okay," said Ron, before pulling her back so that he could look at her. "She also said that you've been doing nothing but read books. Don't you ever get bored?"

"Sometimes, yes."

"Then, why didn't you go visit The Burrow?" asked Ron. "I'm sure Mum and Ginny would be more than happy to have you there."

"I did; a number of times in fact," she answered. "But you're never there. So I got bored easily."

"You could have asked Ginny to come with you to the shop."

"But then she would ask Harry to accompany us."

"Isn't it supposed to be good? The more the happier?"

Hermione snorted. "The more the _merrier_, Ron," corrected Hermione. "Well it should, if they hadn't spent half of the time snogging and the other half cuddling."

Ron laughed and hugged her close. "I think someone is jealous," he said in a sing-song voice.

Hermione hit his arm lightly. "I am _not_."

Ron laughed again. "Well, here I am now," he whispered to her ear. "No Harry, no Ginny," his lips tracing her jaw line, "Only the two of us here."

"R-Ron," she stuttered as Ron started kissing her neck. "W-we're in my p-parents' house."

Ron smirked. "Just kidding, love," he said, kissing her temple.

For a moment, none of them said anything. They just sat there with Hermione's head tucked under his chin.

"Ron?"

"Hmm?"

Looking up, Hermione asked him, "What time are we going for lunch?"

"Why? You hungry already?"

"Aren't I supposed to be the one asking you _that_?"

Ron grinned. "Well, I'm not _that_ hungry yet but I don't mind some biscuits."

Hermione raised her eyebrow. "Are you asking me to offer you some biscuits?"

Ron's eyes lit up. "Yes, please," he said, nodding. "You have some, don't you?"

"I might have some in the kitchen."

"Brilliant," responded Ron. "Let's check then."

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. Nevertheless, she stood up from his lap and offered her hand to him. Hand in hand, they walked together to the kitchen in search of biscuits.

"You still haven't answered my question," said Hermione. They were now sitting on the floor of the living room, munching on the biscuits Ron had found. Looking up at him, she continued, "What time are we going for lunch?"

"Around 12," he answered, taking another one from the jar. "Why'd you ask?"

"What are we going to do until then?" Before Ron could reply, she held up her hand and added, "Other than snogging and finishing up my biscuits."

Ron grinned. "We could just talk about anything," he said, before looking around the living room. His eyes then caught some picture frames on the table beside the television set. "Or we could look at pictures of you and your family."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I want to see how you looked before we met," said Ron, before taking a sip of ice lemonade.

Hermione paused. "Okay, but promise me you wouldn't laugh."

"I would probably laugh at how cute you looked."

Hermione's face went scarlet. Sobering up, she made the move to stand up but Ron stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

"To get the pictures of course."

"Can't you just summon them?"

"But my wand is upstairs."

"You should have brought it with you everywhere," he said, giving her his wand.

"I guess I just couldn't wait to see you," replied Hermione, smiling at him. She then summoned all the picture frames and albums. Soon the things came soaring and both Hermione and Ron caught them nicely. "So which one do you want to look first?" asked Hermione.

Ron looked around. He was about to take one album when he saw a tiny object moving at the corner of his eye. Realising what it was, he exclaimed, "Shit!" and immediately stood to sit on the sofa with both his feet up.

"What is it?"

"There's a spider on the floor, 'Mione."

"Where?" asked Hermione, scanning the floor. "I don't see anything."

"Near the telly," he answered, pointing at it with a shaky finger. "Get rid of it, will you?"

"Merlin, Ronald," she said, standing up. "The spider is so small I can't even see it from here." She then walked towards where the spider was located and gently threw it out the window. "There, it's gone."

"You sure?"

"Yes," replied Hermione, going back to sit on the floor. "Now, do you still want to look at the pictures?"

"Can we just sit on the sofa?" he asked, childishly.

Hermione sighed. Grabbing his wand, she carefully levitated the piles (including the jar of biscuits and two glasses of ice lemonade) and placed them on the desk nearby. She then sat beside him with her legs crossed. With another flick of Ron's wand, the desk moved closer.

"This better?" asked Hermione, taking his hand in hers.

Ron just nodded as he was still in shock.

"Which album are we looking at first?"

His hand reached out to get the album he had wanted to grab before. Before Ron took it however, he slowly turned towards Hermione. "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"You haven't got any pictures that involve spiders, have you?"

"Honestly, Ronald," said Hermione, shaking her head.

* * *

_A/N: So how'd I do? Hopefully well enough that I deserve some reviews._

_If you have any suggestions for the next chapters, it is deeply appreciated._

_Til next time._

_P.S: In 2 months, HBP will be here. I can hardly wait. *squeals*_


	4. Help Me

_A/N: Wow, aren't I on a roll? Two stories in a week.  
_

_Actually I still haven't finished my last 2 assignments which are due next Friday and Sunday. After those 2, I will be free for around 3 weeks and I'll have my exams! That's less than a month and I'm not even prepared yet. *sighs*_

_**Disclaimer**: All Harry Potter characters belong to JK Rowling._

* * *

HELP ME

Sleeping on the bed was Ron Weasley. He just went to bed at 2am, talking to George about his new job at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes starting the next day (or in the morning since they had to start at 8am). He was all happy, nervous and sad at the same time; happy to finally be able to help George, nervous because it's his first time to have a real job, and sad as he couldn't spend enough time with his girlfriend. Cheesy people might think, but they couldn't stay away from each other for too long.

After finally confessing their love to each other, both Ron and Hermione were always seen together. Except for when Hermione had to go to Australia to retrieve her parents' memory. It's not because Hermione didn't want him to go with her; it's because his family still needed him around as they had just lost one important member of the family. After days of crying in each other's arms, they reluctantly let go and waited until Hermione returned with her parents.

Now that all three of them had gone back safe and sound, Ron seemed to not be able to have enough of her. Brunch, lunch (often only Ron had lunch as Hermione was still full) and dinner were always spent together – be it in The Burrow, Hermione's house or Leaky Cauldron.

Snogging was, of course, done everyday. Every time they saw each other, Ron would drag her away to his room or Hermione would corner him to an isolated place where no-one could see.

"Never knew you were like this," Ron had once told her when Hermione had out of the blue pulled him to the bathroom.

"Like what?"

"Oh I don't know," he said, "Kidnapped me when I was going to get some drink from the kitchen?"

"You mean you don't like me 'kidnapping' you to have a little snog with my boyfriend?" asked Hermione, innocently pouting and batting her eyelashes.

Ron growled. "I didn't say I didn't like it," he replied before attacking her lips again.

Half an hour after that, they both went out of the bathroom with swollen lips and messy hair. They were met by Ginny who had been waiting outside, wanting to get in. Passing the love birds, they heard her make a gagging sound and mumble "Disgusting." Hermione and Ron just laughed and went downstairs hand in hand.

At this moment, Ron was having a wonderful dream involving Hermione and himself doing Merlin-knows-what in her bedroom. But when the dream-Hermione was about to lift her jumper up her torso, he was woken up by a tap on his window. Knowing what it was without actually looking at it, Ron mumbled "Go away!" and stirred to his side.

Another tap and Ron buried his head under the pillow.

Then all of the sudden, "Ronald Weasley! Get down here this instant!"

Ron immediately took his wand and literally flew down the stairs. Having arrived at his mother's side, he stuck out his wand looking around the house for any signs of danger. "What is it, Mum? Where's the danger?" he asked, shielding her from whatever danger she was facing.

Mrs Weasley smacked the back of his head. "There's nothing but an owl from your dear Hermione."

Ron groaned and flopped down into the sofa. "Mum, you didn't have to yell at me for that," he whined. Nevertheless, he called the owl. As soon as the owl was near, it stuck out its claw, expecting the recipient to take the letter out. But realising Ron was not going to do anything but lean back with his eyes closed, the owl dropped the letter to his lap and flew to Molly before nipping Ron's hand none too gently. "Oww!! Bloody bird."

"Language, Ronald!" snapped Mrs Weasley, before giving the owl a treat.

Ron mumbled an apology and opened his letter. He was happy that he got a letter from his girlfriend, although he couldn't help but wonder why she sent an owl this early.

_Dear Ron,_

_I hope you're fully awake by the time my owl arrives. But seeing that you're already reading this now, that means you're up. Unless your mother came to your room to shove you off the bed._

Ron chuckled. "Very close, love," he mumbled.

_You know it's your first day at work; you're not supposed to be late. And you're not supposed to _sleep_ late when you have to be somewhere else at 8am either. (In case you're wondering how I knew that, you sent me an owl right before you went to bed.)_

_Anyway, the point of my writing this letter is to apologise for not being able to be there for you this morning. I really _really_ wanted to be right beside you before you go to WWW. Too bad I had to go with my parents really early today._

_When I return, I promise I'll be there for you even when you don't want me to._

_I'm sure you haven't taken a shower yet, so take a shower now before –_

"Oww!!" exclaimed Ron. His mother had once again whacked him. "Mum!"

"Go take a shower."

"But I'm still reading," he said, rubbing the place where Mrs Weasley had hit him. He then continued reading,

– _your Mum hits you. Or you'll be late!_

_Hope you have some fun at WWW today._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

_P.S: Don't forget to send me a reply as soon as you've got the time. If I didn't get anything at all from you until the end of the day, I would definitely Disapparate from here to hunt you down. Love you._

Ron closed the letter slowly. He didn't know what to feel. Should he be relieved that Hermione would sacrifice her time for him? Or scared because she would literally murder him for making her worry?

"A nice girl, Hermione is."

"A scary one at that."

Ron groaned, knowing that both George and Ginny had been standing behind the sofa to read his letter. "Shut it, you two," he muttered, leaning his head back.

George laughed. "Hurry up, Ronniekins. You promised me last night you'd be at the shop at 7.45," he said. "Hit the shower before _I_ hit you."

"What time is it?"

"Almost seven."

Ron groaned again. "Can't I –"

"Ron!" warned Mrs Weasley.

"All right, all right. I'm taking a shower now," said Ron, getting off the sofa with the letter in hand. Noticing a giggle near him, he turned to his little sister. "What are you doing up so early anyway?"

Ginny gasped dramatically. "How dare you? I'm a girl – girls wake up before any blokes do," she said, putting one hand on her chest for a dramatic effect.

Ron eyed suspiciously. "You have a date with Harry today, don't you?"

Ginny grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, is that obvious?"

Both George and Ron looked at her with raised eyebrows.

Before Ginny could retort back, Mrs Weasley announced, "Breakfast is ready!" When she saw her youngest son make the move to walk to the table, she added, "Not you, young man. You have to take a shower first before you can eat."

"Fine," mumbled Ron, going back upstairs with his head down. Hearing a few chuckles from his siblings, he yelled, "Shut up!"

Shower for Ron wouldn't take as long as his sister or any other girls would. He would only take his clothes off, turn on the shower, shower for a few minutes, brush his teeth (and sometimes shave his chin and jaw) and put on new clothes. He didn't have to look in the mirror to see how fresh he looked (well except when he had to go on a date with Hermione) and spend the whole half hour to comb his hair.

Today was no exception. Until …

"AAARGH!!" shouted Ron, immediately ran to the toilet and stood on the seat. "HELP ME!"

Three pairs of hurried steps were then heard. As the bathroom door was sill locked, they stood outside while banging at the door.

"Ron! Are you all right?"

"What is it?"

"Open the door, Ronald!"

"I can't!" replied Ron whose face had turned pale. "There's –"

"Are you decent?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, I am decent! Just get in and help me, will you?" he cried out. "AAARGH!!"

"Alohomora!" shouted Mrs Weasley who then kicked the door open. The trio went in and ran to Ron to see whether he's hurt. "Oh thank Merlin you're all right," she said, cupping his face.

"I am _not_ all right! There's … there's a monster near the faucet!"

"You mean this little thing?" asked George, picking up the spider and showing it to Ron.

Ron let out a small curse and crouched in front of his mother, hiding himself from having to see the spider. "Get it away from me!" he whined. "You know how much I hate that thing."

"Oh come off it, Ron," said Ginny. "The spider is really tiny. How could you possibly see it from there?"

"Tiny or not, I could still see it from everywhere I am," replied Ron from the front of Mrs Weasley. He rested his forehead against her shoulder. "Throw it away."

Both George and Ginny shook their heads and went out of the bathroom, leaving Mrs Weasley with Ron.

"Is it gone?"

"Yes, Ronald; the spider is gone," answered Molly, stroking his hair. Kissing his forehead softly, she added, "You can finish whatever you were doing just now and go downstairs for breakfast afterwards."

Ron nodded. "Thanks, Mum." Just before she exited the bathroom, he called her again, "Can you make sure that none of them hides that spider somewhere around me?"

* * *

_A/N: As usual, my apologies if I make some error somewhere in this story. And I really appreciate it if any of you points it (or them) to me in reviews._

_Til next time.._

_P.S: Have you seen the extended clip of Ron Weasley where he was under the love potion? It's a downright LOL moment.._


	5. Can We Keep It?

_A/N: I finally managed to finish this right before the day ends [in the country where I live in, that is], because tomorrow [4th of Aug] is my birthday! So for my presents, I want some reviews please. Haha,, Just tell me how I've done [be it good or bad, I don't mind] by reviewing this chapter._

_Anyway before you start reading, I have to warn you that Ron might be a little OOC [too childish maybe] and the children might be a little too matured here. So I apologise in advance if I in any way did bad in portraying the characters._

_This chapter is somehow a sequel to The Birth of Hugo Weasley, although there's no need to read that one first. So there will be Charlie, Rose and Hugo in here. _

_I thank Bendleshnitz for helping me write this._

_By the way, I have to put the rating higher for some reason.  
_

_**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to JK Rowling._

* * *

CAN WE KEEP IT

"Uncle Charlie!"

Charlie immediately took both Rose and Huge in his arms when they flew to him. "Hey, Rose! Hugo!" he said. "Haven't seen you for so long. Merlin, haven't you grown?"

Rose and Hugo just laughed. "Happy birthday, Uncle Charlie!"

"Thanks, you two," replied Charlie before putting them down on their own feet.

The kids then ran to greet the rest of the family in turn.

"Hey, Charlie," greeted Ron, walking towards him with Hermione beside him. "Happy birthday."

"Cheers, mate," he replied, ruffling his youngest brother's hair. He turned towards his sister in law. "Hermione."

"Charlie," said Hermione before hugging him, "Happy birthday."

"Thank you, sis."

"You're welcome," replied Hermione, smiling. "Where's Ginny? Has she arrived yet?"

"Ouch, Hermione," said Charlie, feigning a hurt look while placing both his hands on his chest for a more dramatic effect, "You only said two sentences to me and now you're looking for my sister? We haven't seen each other for years, Hermione."

Ron chuckled, earning him a jab on his ribs. "Sorry, love," he said, "but it's true. We don't see Charlie as often as we Ginny."

"Just because I asked about her whereabouts, doesn't mean that I'm going to talk to her at once," she defended herself.

It was Charlie's turn to chuckle and Hermione had to keep her hands to her sides so that she wouldn't jab his ribs. "I was just kidding, Hermione. We can talk after you talk to Ginny," he said, winking at her. Ron instinctively put his arms around her. "She's helping Mum in the kitchen."

"Okay, I'll see you around," she said, before kissing her husband's cheek and walking towards the kitchen door.

"OI, Hermione! You really _are_ going to talk to her before me?"

"Well you said it yourself: we can talk after I talk to Ginny," she replied, turning around to face both men. "Didn't he say that, Ron?"

"You did, mate," answered Ron, slapping his older brother's back.

Hermione gave a smug smile before turning around again. "I _will_ talk to you, don't worry," she said, before disappearing from their view.

Ron chuckled again.

"Well," said Charlie as he put his arm around his brother's shoulder, "seeing that your lovely wife has abandoned me _and_ you," stirring him to the living room, "let's talk with the others."

"Are we the last ones to arrive?"

Charlie nodded. "I thought you weren't going to come, even though Mum said hundred times that you would," he said, before looking at Ron sideways. "What took you so long anyway? Don't tell me one of you had some 'urgent things' to do before coming here."

Ron let out a bitter laugh. "No, Hugo couldn't find his jumper. And when we found it, he was so excited that 'Mione had to run around the house to catch him. So I blame _you_ for spoiling my son so much."

Charlie guffawed. "Not my fault the kid likes me."

* * *

"Hermione?"

They were at the moment outside Ron's parents' house; Hermione was reading her book with her back leaning against one of the trees and Ron was lying on the ground with his head on her lap.

"Hmm?" she replied with her eyes still on the book.

"Did you finally talk with Charlie today?"

Hermione lowered her book and looked at her husband. "I did when you lot were outside. I was actually reading this same very book," gesturing to the book on her hand, "when he interrupted me. So I ended up not finishing this book by talking to your brother for hours." She rubbed her other hand on Ron's cheek. "Now if you excuse me, I want to finish reading it."

With no difficulty of reaching the book, Ron took it from his wife's hand and placed it next to him. "Can't you just read it later? You don't have to finish it today, do you?"

"I do," she answered, trying to take the book back but to no avail. "I want to know the ending."

"But I thought you already read this book for more than twice, 'Mione?"

"It's still interesting no matter how many times I've read it," replied Hermione. "Give it back to me, Ronald."

"Now, now love," pushing the book even further, "must you use my full name?"

"You want me to use your middle and last names as well?"

Ron smiled. "That's really unnecessary, don't you think?" He got up from his position and turned around to face her. "What did I do wrong? All I did was take your book because I wanted to have a little snog with my wife. Now, is there something wrong with that?"

"Yes," answered Hermione firmly, though her face was blushing, "you wanted to snog me when _I_ wanted to read."

"Can't you read it at home?" asked Ron, pushing the book out of his and her reach.

"It's quiet in here," she replied, finally giving up. "I don't think I can read peacefully at home what with the children running around the house and you trying to catch them."

"At which point I will ask for your help," he added, chuckling. He paused for awhile before continuing, "And after they're finally settled," he leaned in dangerously close to her; one hand on the ground, the other on her cheek, "you will run around the house," kissing her ear softly, "and I will catch you."

Hermione thought that her husband was going to kiss her where she wanted the most. But at the last minute, Ron changed direction and kissed the side of her mouth instead. She held his face with both her small hands, not letting him to pull away.

"Yes, Hermione?" he prompted with a mischievous smile on his face. "Is there something you need?"

"You're evil, you know that."

"But you love me, anyway," he replied, stroking her face. "And I love you."

Hermione smiled and kissed his lips.

"Now, who was it that said she didn't want to snog her husband because she'd rather read her book?" joked Ron, after they broke apart.

Hermione smacked his arm lightly. "I never say I didn't. You just _assumed_ I didn't."

"Whatever you say, love," he said, winking at her. "You and I both know that I'm irresistible." As if to prove his point, Ron leaned in closer to her again and started running his long nose along her jaws. He whispered in her ear, "You can't resist me, 'Mione," his hand was under her shirt now, "no matter how hard you try."

Hermione shivered as she felt his breath on her neck. "Ron," she mumbled, trying to pull him away as she heard something from behind them. "I think someone's coming."

"No-one's coming, 'Mione. It's only the wind," he replied, kissing her neck.

"The children are coming. They were calling out our names just now."

Ron grunted and reluctantly looked up. "Fine," he whined. He reached behind his back, trying to get the book and giving it to Hermione a moment later. He then rested his head again on her lap. "We'll continue this at home, and you can't say 'no'."

Hermione chuckled and successfully kissed his lips despite the awkward position they were in. "I won't," she said, brushing his fringes away. She then continued reading her book, with her free hand on his hair.

"Mum! Dad!"

Both of them turned their heads towards the owner of the voice.

"Look at what we've found," said Hugo, approaching his parents with his sister on his side. He sat right in front of them and opened his hands to show them what he kept inside his palms. "It's a spider."

Ron's eyes widened. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, getting up from his lying position. He quickly backed away from his family.

"Ron!" yelled Hermione, before turning to face her children, "Where'd you two find it?"

But none of the children answered her question. Apparently they were too shocked at their father.

"Did you just say the B-bomb?" asked Rose softly.

Hugo gasped. "So 'bloody hell' is the B-bomb?" he asked with his eyes wide open.

Rose looked at her brother. "No, only 'bloody'."

Hermione turned to look at her husband as if to ask "Must you use that word?"

"What? Their fault for bringing that little monster here," said Ron, knowing exactly what Hermione's look meant. He then looked at Hugo. "Can you throw that away from here, son? I _really_ don't like spiders."

"But Uncle George said you'd like it," said Hugo. "And told me to keep it."

"That wan–"

"Ron," warned Hermione, her eyebrows arched. She looked at her son. "Your father doesn't like spiders because your uncles once used magic to his bear."

"Really? Then what happened?"

Ron groaned. "Can we _please_ not have this conversation right now when that little creature might just escape from Hugo's hand?"

Hermione rolled her eyes ("Hey, I saw that!" shouted Ron). "I'll tell you the story next time when your father is not around," she said, smiling at both her children.

Rose and Hugo nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, I fully agree with your Mum," responded Ron. "I don't want the image imprinted in my mind _again_." He was still standing some distance away from the rest but he winced when he saw some movement from the spider. "Neither do I want that creature to be here right now. Hermione, can you please ask Hugo to throw it away?"

Hermione inwardly sighed. "Hugo, you heard your father: will you throw that poor thing away?"

Hugo shook his head and kept his hands closed as to not let the spider get away. "I want to keep it," he said. "Can we please keep it? Mum? Dad?"

"NO!"

Hugo instantaneously looked like he was about to cry. Hermione then wrapped her arms around her youngest child and gave her husband a look that definitely said "How dare you make my son cry!" She then turned her attention to the little man in her arms and started stroking his hair lovingly. "Oh, Hugo dear. Your father didn't mean to scream at you. He just doesn't like to see a spider this close."

"But Dad is so far away right now," said Rose incredulously.

"Doesn't matter whether I'm near or not, I still don't like that thing your brother is holding!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. She used her eyes to point at the youngest Weasley before looking at Ron again as if to ask him to apologise.

"What?" mouthed Ron. "Why?"

"Do I need to tell you?" she mouthed back. "Hurry up."

Ron sighed, giving up. He knew he couldn't win the fight. So he walked slowly, trying to ignore the fact that there's a monster inside his son's hands. When he saw another movement from it, he winced and stopped in his tracks, pointing at it with a shaky finger.

Noticing that, Hermione looked down and inwardly sighed again. "Hugo, you should free the spider. I think it's confused since you've kept it inside your little hands," she said softly.

Hugo shook his head. "No!"

"Come on, love. It doesn't have enough air to breathe."

Ron was suddenly sitting right beside them. "Hugo, I'll let you keep anything else," he said, though he was still scared that the spider might just fall, "just let go of that thing."

"Oh, can we get a cat then?" suggested Rose.

"But we still have Crookshanks, Rosie."

"He's too old; we can't play with him anymore."

"But we can't just get another one. He's been with me for years. He can't be replaced," said Hermione. She widened her eyes as though she realised something and turned to her husband. "We're not going to replace him, are we Ron?"

"No, of course not, love," said Ron, smiling earnestly.

"I don't want another cat, I want this spider," wailed Hugo, showing the spider to his father.

Ron shrieked and jumped several metres back as the spider suddenly escaped from the small family. Thankfully it didn't run towards him. He sighed and crawled back. "Finally."

"Ron," called Hermione, "I think you've forgotten something."

Ron paused for awhile, thinking about what he had forgotten. Eventually after some moments passed, he seemed to remember. "Err, Hugo, son. I'm sorry for screaming at you before. And not letting you keep that thing."

"That thing has a name, Ronald."

"Fine, not letting you keep that … spider. It's just that … something happened to me when I was small and it scarred me for life."

Rose gasped. "Did the spider hurt you, Daddy?"

"Well, not physically," replied Ron, rubbing the back of his reddened neck.

Rose slowly crawled to her father's lap. Once settled, she hugged him with all her might. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

"Why are you apologising?" he asked, completely baffled. "It's not your fault that my brothers did something to my teddy bear. You weren't even born yet when that happened."

Rose just hugged Ron tighter as a response. He chuckled at his daughter and kissed her head.

"I'm sorry, Daddy."

Ron, Hermione and Rose turned their heads towards Hugo.

"Now why are _you_ apologising, little mate? You did nothing wrong either," said Ron, even more baffled.

Hugo crawled to his father and hugged him as tight as his little arms could. "I don't know you're scared of spiders."

"You _didn't_ know," corrected Hermione.

"I didn't know you're scared of spiders, Dad. If I know –"

"If you _had known_," she interrupted again.

"If I had known, I … I wouldn't have asked you?" Hugo finished slowly, and ended up asking a question to both his parents.

Ron chuckled wholeheartedly and hugged both his children tight. "Your apologies are accepted, even though it's not your fault."

Hermione smiled as she took in the view right in front of her, Ron Weasley hugging their two children with such love that brought tears in her brown eyes. She silently wished that she had her camera so that she could document the beautiful scene before her.

However, this beautiful scene had to end as she heard Hugo's question:

"Can we keep a dragon then, Dad?"

"CHARLIE!"

* * *

_A/N: This chapter is much longer than I thought it would be. But it won't be the last one since I have some idea on the next chapter, even though I haven't started on it. Don't worry though, Bendleshnitz will help me should I ever get stuck. Won't you, Bendleshnitz? LOL!  
_

_Before I forget, I wanna thank those who still read and review Everything. I, til this date, can't believe that you like that story so much - it has 2000+ hits! Makes me smile so much that it hurts. Haha.  
_

_Anyway, if you see any errors somewhere around, don't forget to point them out to me. ;]_

_Til next time.._


	6. An Unforgettable Proposal

_A/N: Yes! I finally finished this. It was really time consuming, but I really had fun writing this chapter._

_Anyway this is my first attempt in writing a proposal scene so I hope it's worth the waiting and reading. ;]_

_Thanks to Bendleshnitz who's helped me a lot during the process of writing this._

_**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to JK Rowling._

* * *

AN UNFORGETTABLE PROPOSAL

_Morning, love. And Happy Birthday!_

_Now before you go barmy, I'd like to apologise for not waking you up this morning. You looked so peaceful, I didn't dare do anything but watch you sleep. Unfortunately though, I had to leave you, no matter how much I'd want to stay and watch you all day long. I didn't even get to wish you a Happy Birthday in person. Still, I'm sure I'm the first to wish you in letter, aren't I?_

_You didn't forget that today's your birthday, did you? I hope not. Because if you did … well, let's just say I have a plan tonight and I'm sure that it will be the best birthday you've ever had that you will never _ever_ forget._

_I love you,_

_Ron_

_P.S: You should give me a reward for 1. not forgetting your birthday, 2. writing you such a sweet letter, and 3. loving you so much. I'll be waiting for it when I see you after work. Cancel any plans tonight, except mine of course._

_Ah I almost forgot. I made you some breakfast. It might not be as delicious as Mum's or your Mum's but I did my best. It's quite tasty in fact._

_Oh, and Happy Birthday once again!_

Hermione couldn't help but put a wide smile on her face for the rest of the day. Her boyfriend had made her a wonderful breakfast this morning and he had a plan for her tonight; her parents, Harry and the Weasleys had sent her owls and presents; her co-workers had wished her just after she stepped into the office. Even when she was passing by some wandering people on her way to the elevator, she was stopped as they took turn in shaking hands and wishing her. She felt giddy as she found out that everybody around knew that that day was her special day.

Which was actually a bad thing.

Having lunch with her colleagues was a chaos as there were people surrounding her, wishing her a Happy Birthday. She could only thank them and faintly smile as some of them tried to have their pictures taken.

Hermione was really glad when one of her co-workers told her that her boss was waiting in her office. But when she arrived, there was no-one but a single rose in the middle of her table. She approached it slowly and saw a message written in a piece of paper beside the flower. She took the note and started reading it:

'_Mione,_

_You have to admit: I'm the most brilliant boyfriend. I saw you just now, being attacked by those people. I was going to save you but Harry told me that it wouldn't be a great idea since they would definitely come to us instead when we actually had to go. So I settled with placing a rose on your table and asking Lydia to get you away from the crowd. Well, aren't I clever?_

Hermione laughed lightly. "Yes, you are."

_I'm sorry you couldn't see me or Harry before we had to leave though. We were already running late; that's why my handwriting is even messier than usual._

_Anyway I have to end this – Harry's poking me with his pointy finger._

_Much love, _

_Ron_

_P.S: I assure you there will be no interruptions tonight._

_And Harry says hello. He'll see you at the Burrow for our lunch tomorrow._

Hermione smiled and put down the note. She then took the flower and raised it to her nose, trying to get the scent. She reached into her pocket for her wand and flicked it to conjure up a vase filled with water. Placing the rose inside it, she smiled again as she remembered what Ron had done to her so far today.

_Hopefully Ron would stay true to his words_, she thought while moving the vase into the middle of her table,_ saying that I will never _ever_ forget this birthday_.

* * *

"Shall we?" said Ron, getting up from the bench. He offered Hermione his hand.

They had been sitting and talking on the park near the restaurant where they had dinner just now.

"Where are we going?" she asked, accepting his hand before standing next to her boyfriend.

But Ron just smiled and led her to a secluded alley.

"Ron?"

Ron stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Well we can't really Disapparate from here in front of those Muggles, can we?"

"Well no, but where are we going?" she asked again. "It's a bit scary here, don't you think?" Hermione started looking around, afraid that something might just appear out of nowhere.

He took Hermione's face in his hands and kissed her lips. "I'm here, love, don't worry," he whispered, running his thumb on her cheek. "Besides we're going, anyway."

"But where are we going?" she repeated, leaning against his touch.

"You'll find out soon enough," said Ron before he Disapparated both of them from that eerie place to …

"Grimmauld Place?" said Hermione, incredulously. She looked at him, tilting her head slightly. "What are we doing here?"

"Part of the plan, of course," he grinned and took her hand to lead her to the kitchen.

"Hmm? What is all this?" she asked, noticing a number of plates with dessert on them. She walked towards the table with a wide smile on her face. "Did you prepare all this?"

"I wish, but I didn't," answered Ron, amused at how happy she looked. "Kreacher did."

"Kreacher?" she echoed, turning around to face him.

"Yes, I asked him to prepare the dessert," he said. He immediately added as he saw the look on her face, "I didn't threaten him, I swear. I even asked him nicely."

Hermione smiled. "Well where is he?"

"I told him to have a night off," he answered proudly, "so he's now at the Burrow."

"How about Harry?"

"I gently told him to sod off."

"Ron," she warned him, one of her eyebrows was lifted.

He grinned. "Just kidding, love. He's at the Burrow as well."

"So there's no-one but us here?"

Ron pinned her against the counter and flashed Hermione his grin again. "No-one."

Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck. "No interruptions?"

"None whatsoever."

"Good," she murmured before standing on her tiptoe and closing the distance between them. Breaking apart, she rested her forehead against his. "I love you," she whispered.

"Love you too," he replied before picking her up and sitting her on the counter they were leaning against. "Now let's have some dessert."

Hermione smirked. "Don't you ever think about something else other than food?"

"Of course I do," he retorted, carefully cutting a slice of cake. "I think about work, Quidditch, chess and my family." Succeeded, he placed the plate of cake just beside her so he could trap her again. "About you as well," he whispered huskily, leaning in closer. "Every day," he placed a kiss on her ear, "every hour," on her neck, "every minute," on her cheek, "and every second," a longer and more passionate kiss on her lips. "You're always on my mind, no matter what."

She couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Even in your sleep?" she asked, running her fingers through his red hair.

"_Especially _in my sleep," replied Ron, before kissing her forehead and smiling at her. "Ready for dessert yet?"

Hermione just nodded happily and opened her mouth, expecting him to feed her.

Ron laughed lightly and took a fork to feed her the cake. As he took notice of Hermione's closed eyes when she ate it, he smirked and asked, "That good, huh?"

She sheepishly smiled and nodded. "You should try it." Before Ron could do anything, she took the fork from him and fed him a piece. "Delicious, isn't it?"

"I still think that Mum's cooking is the best," he commented after he swallowed. "But that doesn't mean Kreacher's is bad."

For an hour, they alternated between eating and talking about anything that came to mind. In Ron's case, eating and talking at the same time. Hermione kept telling him to swallow first, but she knew that he did it in purpose so that he could listen to her nagging.

"You know I love it when you tell me what to do."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to speak _and_ eat simultaneously," she replied. "I don't want to see the food inside your mouth."

"Even if what I want to say is this?" he asked before he took one of her hands and bent down on one knee, causing Hermione to gasp and place her free hand in front of her slightly opened mouth. "Hermione Granger," he began after he looked up, "You know I love you. And I know that you love me too."

"Of course," she managed to whisper. "How can I not?"

Ron smiled. "You have to believe me when I say that it's really a relief to hear you say that. Because up to this date, I still wonder how in the world I managed to get you in the end. You are the most brilliant, beautiful, wonderful person I've ever known. And yet you chose me–"

"Ron –"

"–And yet you chose me," he continued as if she didn't interrupt him, "a mere Ron Weasley who still loves to annoy you."

Hermione laughed lightly.

"So what I'm really trying to say is ... " He trailed off as his hand reached for his pocket. But instead of taking out what she hoped was a tiny box with a beautiful ring inside, his hand suddenly went to start scratching his right ankle.

"What is it, Ron?" asked Hermione, as she saw him lifting up his trousers' cuff to check for something. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah, I think there are some ants on my leg," he answered. He immediately continued as she made the move to get down from counter, "No, you stay put."

"They didn't bite you, did they?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Don't think so," he replied while sitting down on the ground, rolling up his trousers to his knee. What he found instead were not ants. "AARRGH! 'MIONEEEE!!"

Hermione immediately jumped down from her seat and knelt in front of him. "What is it?"

"HELP ME, 'MIONE!" he yelled, stretching out his legs as far as possible. "GET RID OF THOSE THINGS!"

"What –?" Before she could finish her question, she unconsciously snapped her head towards his outstretched legs and saw quite a number of spiders climbing up and down. She widened her eyes. "How in the world did that happen?"

"I DON'T KNOW! JUST ... DO SOMETHING!! ANYTHING!" he continued as he struggled to get rid of the spiders by shaking his legs, unsuccessfully. "AARRGH! KREACHEEERRR!!"

"Kreacher's not here and will you stop doing that?" said Hermione, holding both his legs. "How do you expect me to save you if you keep shaking your legs? Honestly."

"Well how do you expect _me_ to stop fidgeting if there are loads of monsters on my said legs?" he retorted. He widened his eyes as he saw more spiders coming towards the couple. "Hermioneee, do something."

A few screaming from both Ron and Hermione later, they were back in their house with Ron shuddering beside her on the sofa.

"I will never go back to that house," murmured Ron, his head leaning back with closed eyes, "ever again."

Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes even though Ron wouldn't be able to see if she did. Instead she rested her head on his shoulder and took his hand in hers.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," he said suddenly, breaking the silence in the house.

"Whatever for, love?" she asked, looking up at him.

"For ruining your birthday surprise."

"Well, you really _did_ surprise me," teased Hermione, giggling slightly.

Ron groaned and placed his free arm over his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said, kissing his hand. When he didn't respond, Hermione shifted to face him. "Hey, it's not your fault we were interrupted."

"Then it must be Kreacher's."

"Don't blame the poor thing, Ronald. He wasn't even there."

"But he was the one who cleaned the house. I told him specifically to cover every spot."

She immediately tore his arm away from his face. "You asked him to prepare us some dessert _and_ clean the whole house?"

He bowed his head down. "I'm sorry, but I wanted your birthday to be perfect."

"Oh, Ron," she mumbled before taking a seat on his lap and hugging him tightly. "I wouldn't ask for a better birthday."

"Even if we were attacked by those monsters?" he asked childishly.

Hermione laughed lightly. "That's what made it better," she said, pulling back to look at his blue eyes. She pecked his lips once before leaning against him. As she felt something sharp residing inside his right pocket, she remembered the event that happened before they were disrupted. "Ron?" she called in a surprisingly calm voice despite the nervousness she's feeling at the moment.

"Hmm?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Forgetting?"

She nodded. "What were we doing before the spiders' incident?"

Ron's heart then started to beat faster, she could feel it. "I-I was proposing ... to you," he said the last two words quietly.

"And you didn't get to ask me the question yet."

Then silence came. Hermione swore she could hear both of their heartbeats.

When she thought he was not going to continue his proposal tonight, she was suddenly pulled back and kissed by her fiancée-to-be. His kiss was slow but passionate. It wasn't like his other hurried kisses that she also liked getting from him, but she wouldn't ask for a better one because it simply came from him.

Minutes or just merely seconds later, they broke apart.

"I really love you, Hermione," panted Ron, resting his forehead against hers. He paused for awhile. "I'm sorry but I, err, sort of forgot my speech."

Hermione chuckled. "That's okay. The speech before was good enough for me."

Ron kissed her again, shorter this time. He pulled back and stroked her cheek, looking at her with such love that almost made her cry. "Will you marry me?" he finally asked her.

A tear escaped from her eyes and was immediately brushed away by the person sitting in front of her. "Yes," she answered, nodding her head. She added just to make it official, "Yes, I'd love to marry you." She kissed his cheek and hugged his torso. "I love you, Ronald Weasley."

"And I love _you_, Hermione Weasley."

Hermione giggled. "I love the sound of that: Hermione Weasley."

"So do I, love," he replied. "It has ... " He trailed off again, his right hand unsuccessfully reaching for his ankle.

"What is it now, Ron?" she asked, pulling back and moving to sit next to him instead staying on his lap. "It's not spiders again, is it?"

Ron winced and put his feet up the table in front of him. He rolled up his trousers but found nothing. He let out a breath. "Thank Merlin. I kept having this image where the spiders are climbing up and down my legs."

Both of them started to laugh as they were worried for nothing.

But it's not until Ron reached for his pocket to retrieve the ring that they found out the spiders from Grimmauld Place had followed them by holding on to Ron's trousers.

"AARRGH! 'MIONEEEE!!"

* * *

_A/N: Hope the ending didn't suck. I spent most of the time thinking about how to end this chapter. This is what came out._

_This might be the last chapter of Little Monster since I haven't got a clue of what to write next. Nevertheless, suggestions are welcomed and deeply appreciated. ;]_

_Thanks to those who have been reading and reviewing from the very beginning. Also thanks to those who have put this story on alert and favourite it._

_Til next time.._


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